For the last couple of years I have been working on creating what I call a “sculpted tiny home” out in my yard in New Mexico. This is the second such home I have created since I decided to devote my time to this pursuit.
The first one I called Full Circle for several reasons: many of the interior decorative designs were based on actual crop circles documented around the world, and also because working on this tiny home brought together many of the interests I have devoted much of my life to. With Full Circle I started exploring the creation of wood inlay panels (also known as “marquetry”) fabricated as cabinet doors, tables and full-sized doors.
With my current project, Tree of Life, I have also used marquetry to decorate much of the interior.
Tree of Life is based on a large fifth wheel travel trailer with several expanding slide-outs that give the interior a very spacious feeling. My sculpted tiny homes are intended to remain mostly stationary when in use, but can be hauled to a new location as needed. As you can see from the photos, the exterior does look more like a fixed home than a travel trailer. The area under the raised bedroom where the fifth wheel hitch is located has been enclosed to create a storage room. A deck with steps up to it and natural wooden railings surrounds the entry door. In order to move the unit it is necessary to dismantle several of these components before the slide-outs can be retracted and the trailer becomes roadworthy.
The original fiberglass body was lined with rigid foam insulation that is held in place by decorative cedar shingles. A separate metal roof is framed over the original contoured roof.
The exterior and interior decorative motifs relate to “Tree of Life” in a number of ways. Surrounding the outside is a veritable forest of trees that weave around each other.
Even the stained glass window in the entry door depicts an entwined tree. Inside, the marquetry shows replicas of many works of art found throughout historical and prehistorical times.
Ancient cave paintings, images from Babylonia, Egypt, Africa, Turkey, Indonesia, Mesoamerica, and Peru grace the walls.
There are also symbolic images that represent the forms of DNA and a Torus. As a three dimensional emphasis of the importance of DNA to life on Earth is a carved tree trunk that winds from the floor to the ceiling with an entwined double spiral pattern.
What I especially like about creating sculpted tiny homes is that ultimately they will be inhabited by people who can fully absorb the magic and spirit of the imagery. This influence will likely carry on long after I am dead.
The Tree of Life is for sale, and you can find out more about this project and my other artistic endeavors by going to my website hartworks.com.
This tiny house is actually an RV that has been covered in wood. The ancient motifs really take the cake with this one! 🏠